by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

Let's just cut to the chase. I sing while I write. Wait, what? Usually, when I tell people this -- or they discover it by hanging out with me while I am working -- they wonder how in the heck I can do this.

The truth is, I can't answer how, but I can tell you more about it. You see, ever since I was a small child, singing was my first love. Once I learned to write, at the tender age of three (yes, three, ask my mom Jaipi Sixbear), they were a tie. I haven't put down the pen (or keyboard) or microphone (aka thin air sometimes) since. At some point (not really sure when) they just started happening together.

I sing many of my waking hours. The most active time is while I am writing. It helps me to concentrate. Friends often ask if I accidentally type song lyrics into my work. It's possible that I have a time or two -- or that I will in the future. But as far as I know, I haven't unless it was my song I was listening to and composing at the time. Please tell me if I do it in something else, however. I don't think the original artists would appreciate me doing that very much.

Some of my favorite artists to sing with (at least at the moment -- this will change often with me) include Epica, Kina Grannis, Adele, P!nk, Alanis Morisette, Melissa Etheridge, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, and many more.

Do you do something seemingly out of the ordinary while writing?

Tell us in the comment section.

Photo Credit/Copyright: Lyn Lomasi
(Yup, that's me)

I originally published this on BUBBLEWS (no longer published there)

by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

When you write an article and publish it on the web, you don't know who is going to read it. Your high school English teacher might read it. But then again, so might someone with minimal understanding of English or a person with low vision. You need to be able to target as many people as possible when writing for a web audience. One way to do that is to toss the "educated jargon." You're a journalist. We all know you can read and write. Keep it simple and keep the readers.

According to the Yahoo! Style Guide lesson entitled " Translate Voice Into Words " (pg. 36), using simple words is helpful. It's not a good idea to practice all those big words you used in school in web writing. This is not to say that web readers aren't smart. But, when a person searches for something on the internet, they just want to find and scan the info quickly. If you have too many big words, they'll just click away and move to the next, costing you a potential reader. Lighten your vocabulary load.

As an experience web writer, I agree with the Yahoo! Style Guide on this point. When I first started writing for the web, some of my work contained too many big words and complex language. You can still be considered a professional without having a talk with your thesaurus every day. Simple wording does not mean you aren't smart. It just means you're catering to your audience.

Another vocabulary-related mistake is being too formal in web writing. Take this sentence for example: "According to authorities, Amanda was unwillingly arrested, due to the unruly bar commotion she provoked." There is nothing wrong with the sentence. But it's not as easy to read as the following: "Amanda is said to be in jail after refusing to go with police. Reports state that she caused some ruckus at the bar before that." Which one is easier to follow? Most likely, it will be the second one.

There's also your unique voice. Your content should be written in a way that immediately tells readers it's something you wrote. Think of the books and articles you read often. Are there authors that stick out? Do you know right away who wrote something, based on the topic and tone? That's what you want readers to do with your work also.

One way to do this is to create your own wording for certain things. For instance, I call myself a "Momtrepreneur". When I say that, I am referring to the fact that I'm a mom and an entrepreneur at the same time. I work at home and stay home with the kids. I've received countless comments and messages over that one term. Also, just the way in which someone "speaks" in their writing should tell you who the author is. Two people can write about the same thing and have it come out entirely different. Give your content that special touch that only can come from you, but at the same time, keep it simple.

Source:
Yahoo! Style Guide by Yahoo! and Chris Barr

**Photo Credit: Lyn Lomasi

**I originally published this content on Yahoo! Voices on Aug 2, 2010

by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

I’ve often written about how to come up with ideas when you’re struggling to find topics as a writer. However, I am one of those writers who always has too many ideas. I can’t be the only one who has docs, notebooks, and cell phone space full of them. So, how do I deal with all of these ideas? What exactly do I do with them and what can you do with yours?

Sort and organize your ideas for ideal use – Many writers write to more than one venue or have somewhat of a designated space or time period for certain topics. It may help to sort your ideas into categories based on topics, venues, styles, in alphabetical order, and more. We each have our own way of doing things. Therefore, only you can decide the exact sorting method that will work best for you specifically. Whatever you choose should make it easier to find and take advantage of all of your ideas.

Give away good ideas you’ll never write – We all have those ideas that sit in a notebook or file somewhere that we keep skipping over for various reasons. Some of those ideas are ones that we may come back to eventually, while others are those which we know we will never write. Take the latter ones out of your records completely and compile them to share with fellow writers who need ideas. Most writers are friends with other writers and you may even be able to think of an exact person who’d appreciate at least some of the ideas.

Create blank docs with titles ahead of time – This is one of the many things I do to help keep track of ideas, as well as to save time when I am ready to write. I title a blank document using the idea and try to make the title one I can use for a potential article or other piece of writing. I save the documents in the most appropriate folder for that specific idea. This could be a folder of docs designated to a specific client, a specific category of ideas, or for one of my own websites. If I don’t yet know where it might go, I save it under the regular documents folder and move it accordingly after it has been written and published.

Use your ideas to create templates/outlines that speed productivity – This is taking the blank doc idea one step further. I have a method I use to speed up my productivity when creating content. I make myself templates or outlines that have all of my ideas listed so that I only have to think of how to explain it in each section and type out just that part when ready to write. To see samples of how I do this and exactly what I mean, go here: www.articlewriterforhire.com/1/post/2011/07/quick-web-writing-tip-make-an-easy-outline-to-speed-productivity.html

Stop staring at them and just write! – You knew I was going to say this at some point, right? The most obvious thing to do with all of your ideas is to just start grabbing them and write! It really is just that easy. Do the voices in your head keep switching back and forth from idea to idea? Let them. I have an easy way that I deal with that issue as well: http://www.articlewriterforhire.com/1/post/2014/10/tips-for-writing-multiple-articles-at-once.html

What do you do when you’re overwhelmed with ideas?

**Photo Credit: Lyn Lomasi

I originally published this on BUBBLEWS (no longer published there)

by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

Help! I can't stop writing! I told myself I wouldn't write anything for a couple days - you know, actually take a break for more than errands and doing things with the kids. Well, here I am doing it anyway. Writing is such an addiction. I am so addicted to writing that I asked Facebook friends for tips on how not to be productive. Then, it came to me. I could write an article about not being able to stop writing. See, I'm doing it again! It's a never-ending cycle.

Every time I do something - anything - an article idea arises. So much for not writing today. I guess I'll have to try again tomorrow or would that be the following day instead? This is my life as a natural born writer and natural born multitasker. Sure it's my career. But I love writing so much I want to do it all the time. No, I don't just want to. I have to. I even write tips on how other people can write more often like I do.

Oh no! Somebody stop me! I'm spreading the workaholic addiction! I even became a volunteer Community Guide (and later, community staff) at Yahoo! Contributor Network so I could teach others my addictive techniques. What will I do next (queue scary music)? Ooh, it is getting close to Halloween. Time to start writing some Halloween articles. See what I mean, the ideas just never end!

Natural multitasking and a love for writing is a very dangerous combination. I should know. I have mastered writing large numbers of articles quickly and even writing on multiple computers to speed productivity.

Can somebody please help? Seriously. Alright, in all honesty, I really don't want help on this front. But wait, doesn't that prove the addiction even further? Oh well. I'm already too far gone for help at this point.

OK, so I'm just having fun and it's not really that bad. But sometimes us writers do wish we could turn off the ideas in our heads just for a little while. Writing does feed and clothe my family and it keeps me really happy. A happy mom is a good mom, right? Yes, that's it! See, I don't need help at all!

So what should I write about next? Oh, never mind, I have plenty of ideas already!

**Photo Credit: Lyn Lomasi

** I originally published this content at Yahoo! Voices on July 17, 2010.